Life After Life
by Bara-Chama
Summary: "Those who are without sin taste the sweetest of all, and are the best to corrupt," he said softly, smirking down at the girl who lay vulnerable before him. / SPOILER!  READ UP TO MANGA CHAPTER 421 BEFORE FANFIC!


**Monsters**

Another of those monsters…Sitting back in a dark alley, she watched as the giant masked monster slipped past the opening in the alleys. It was sniffing, searching. Taking deep breaths through her nose, she found herself relaxing as its tail started to slip past the alley as well. However, it was too soon. The tail was in the alley in a split second, like a whip, and it wrapped around her middle. It pulled her out, and she screamed. No one heard her scream, despite how loud she was.

"_Hush, little one…Shh…I'll protect you."_

"Wh-who said that?" the girl yelled, not able to see anyone other than this masked monster. However, that deep, rich voice was real.

"_Do you know what that is?"_

"N-no…"

"_It's called a Hollow. It feasts on dead souls, like you, little one…If you'll calm down, I'll save you from it."_

"How?" she asked quietly, unable to fathom how someone could save her as she was pulled closer to the wide mouth of the masked monster—the Hollow. Just as the Hollow's mouth opened and she was inches from it, an odd silence swept around her, and darkness engulfed everything. She could move, nothing was holding her. She tried to find where she was, but to no avail. She noticed something sitting nearby. She blinked. "Umm…Hello?" she asked hesitantly. She approached, noticing that they didn't move. She didn't want to get in trouble, but nor did she feel that it was right to leave someone here lost. As she got closer, it looked like they had…Wings…White wings…An angel?

Finally, when she was but a few feet away, she heard that voice again. _"Welcome to my new home," _the voice said to her. She blinked.

"Your new home? It's not much of a home…"

"_Yes, but I am trapped here unless I am helped."_

"Why were you trapped here?"

"_Unfair justice, little one."_ Finally, she made it around the figure to study it. It was a man, the strong facial features assured that.

"What do you mean?" Their eyes had been closed, and he opened them. She jumped backwards to shield herself; he had such sharp eyes…The whites were black, and the iris was yellow…It looked like the eyes that the monsters—Hollows—had. "Wh-what are you?" she yelled in alarm.

A smirk made its way to his face. _"I didn't always look like this," _he said quietly, and she looked him over again. His hair was long, brown. It reached perhaps halfway down his back. In the center of his forehead was a marking, and it looked like a diamond. He wore plain white clothing, and it looked like he had a ragged butterfly's wings. A black oval with a white cross design in it showed, and dead center was some type of orb. She returned her eyes to his, and he stayed still, giving her time to take in his appearance. The top of his clothing was long, like a dress, and she couldn't see anything of his legs as he sat calmly on his knees. His skin was rather pale, but she didn't pay much attention to the color of his skin. That never mattered.

Sighing, she looked back at him. "Well…What did you look like?"

"_My hair was shorter, but it was this color. It was pretty messy too. I had brown eyes and glasses. I also wore a black shihakushou and white haori."_

"How did you change?"

"_It was a product of the unfair justice I faced. I made an attempt to change the world for the better, but I failed. I didn't gain enough power before facing those evil,"_ the man explained to her. His voice echoed, and she realized that his voice was in her head and outside of it.

"How are you doing that?"

"_It was the only way to reach you. I am just speaking to you. I found that you were the only one who would listen to me, little one."_ The girl nodded. _"What is your name?"_

"Mitani Mahiru…"

"_Well, Mitani-Kun…If I help you, you will help me, and we'll be friends, right?"_

"Yeah! It's not fair that you were trapped here, so I'll get you out!" she replied confidently, glad to find a friend finally in death. The man smirked and rose to his feet. He seemed to be floating as he approached her.

"_When I send you back, stay calm. I will guide you through what you need to do to help me, because I'm going to help you now. Don't scream, don't worry. You'll be fine,"_ he promised. Mahiru felt the desire to trust him, even though something told her not to. Well, if he saved her, she would.

The black evaporated from around her and she found herself back in the clutches of the Hollow. She took a deep breath, prepared for whatever was to come. A sound like a bell ringing sounded in her mind and suddenly, there was a white butterfly in front of her. The man spoke to her again. _"Say 'Byakurai.' Loudly, now."_

"Byakurai!" Mahiru said loudly, shocked as a flash of white light flashed from the butterfly, cutting the monster in half. Both parts of it evaporated, and it was gone. Miharu fell to the ground, landing heavily on her butt. It didn't hurt too badly, and she sighed, looking at the butterfly as it fluttered in front of her. She held out a finger and it lighted on that finger before suddenly fluttering away as someone in black showed up. They wore a shihakushou, and a white haori. It reminded her of what the man said he used to wear. They crouched in front of her to be at her level.

"Hey, kid. Did you see a monster here?"

"Y-yeah," Mahiru said shakily.

"Where did it go?" the girl asked, expression serious.

"It disappeared…" Mahiru murmured. The girl nodded to her and shifted the katana in her hand, turning it so that the hilt was facing Mahiru.

"I'm going to send you somewhere good before those monsters can get you. It's safe there." Mahiru tried to scoot away, but the man spoke to her.

"_Stay still. It won't hurt you, and you'll be sent somewhere safe where we can talk more. I won't be losing you." _Miharu took a shaky breath and closed her eyes tightly as the hilt was pressed against her forehead. She swallowed hard, feeling a rush come over her as she found herself floating away, flying almost. The white butterfly followed her, and she knew her new friend would come with her.

As she found herself in a busy road in a cluttered town, she looked around frantically. The white butterfly was on her shoulder. _"Shh. I'm going to tell you where to go. Now, head straight for that open courtyard."_

"You never told me your name," Miharu mumbled nervously, quickly going in that direction despite the people who stared at her for talking to herself.

"_My name? My name is Aizen Sosuke."_

— X —

**Author's Note:**

I am well aware that it is a short chapter, but I was not intent on ending this any other way. I apologize for the spoilers, but this is a continuation of the fate given to Aizen in the Manga. Chapter 421 or 423. I think it was 421. I haven't been reading the Manga, but my friend told me all about it, so I read up on what happened and how it went. I immediately went "OHHHHHH FANFIC IDEA!"

So, therefore, I started to write. I finally got this done. The next chapter will be lengthy, I promise, because I'm not setting the story.

Also, I think I did pretty well with capturing Aizen's manipulative personality. All of us know he won't be so sweet, don't you think?


End file.
